Thursday, May 23, 2013

So much of the time we hear about how badly schools are doing - how they are overcrowded, filled with violence and dysfunction, how learning is a joke, and teachers are frustrated and heart broken. And, yes, these conditions do exist, and, yes, we need, all of us, whether we have kids or not, need to address these issues, and ask that our public officials do the same - but this past week, I had the AMAZING, AWESOME experience of, in just one day, being in two schools that are not are not broken. Two PUBLIC schools where two committed, hard working, big hearted librarians are making a difference in the lives of the children they serve.
I know it is almost antiquated to even say,"Librarian" these days - most schools have Media Centers, and Media Specialists run them - and believe me - I am all for it, but there is something special about LIBRARIES - the place where physical books, with their heft in your hand, and the smell of those pages still reign supreme. And the keepers of these jewels where the wonders of stories both real and completely fictitious live, are some of my favorite people - librarians!!
This past week at PS122 in Queens, I told stories for the fourth year in a row to students who were well read, full of thought, and great listeners as part of their annual Read to Me Festival. Through the hard work of their school librarian Virginia Hood, the whole school is awash in stories - some through the reading of books, and some through the type of storytelling I do. This is a school where the math teacher is a former student, and hopes one day his young children attend, this is a place where eight graders, who at this time of the year have every right to be "squirrely" and ready to jump out the window on a beautiful spring day - gave me their full attention, and asked mature, thoughtful questions. It was heaven, and what really made it even better to me, is that it is a public school - a place anyone can go. Virginia's library is a place where there are clearly books for all ages, it is organized, and, though it sounds cheesey - it is filled with love.
A subway, PATH Train, and frustratingly slow car ride later, I was in Glen Rock, New Jersey at the Central School's Storytelling Festival. I had told stories over three days to the ENTIRE school as part of the kick off to their storytelling festival back in January (literally right before I left for India!) Every year for a very long time, Marcia Kaiser - the second heroine of a librarian in this tale - has a storyteller come in to tell stories to inspire the kids (for years it's been one of my favorite tellers - Julie Della Torre), and then the kids - EVERY CHILD IN THE SCHOOL learns a tale to tell. In May, they all come together to hear their "school story" a lovely folktale about friendship from Haiti called 'Tipingee". This year, since I had told stories to the whole school, I joined Julie Della Torre (we like to call ourselves Julie Squared) to perform "Tipingee" in front of the entire school. It was such an incredible experience to see the whole school clap their hands, and sing the refrain that runs through this story that they have heard and loved so very, very much. After we told came my favorite part of this amazing day - the children broke out into groups, and they TOLD STORIES TO US!!
Marcia was genius in that it isn't just one grade together - we had second graders with fourth grades, third graders who had listened to the first graders earlier. The way the students supported and listened to their peers was the sweetest thing I had ever seen. It was the way we should all listen to other people - with respect and attention, showing that everyone, be they younger or older than us has something valuable to say.
I had to run to the third part of my day then - teaching a yoga class - but my heart was full with gratitude that I got to be part of both of these celebrations of things I love: stories, books, children, libraries, librarians and STORYTELLING!!! Thank you Virginia, thank you, Marcia - you are proving that libraries matter, that storytelling educates, as well as entertains - you are making a difference!!

Julie's Bio

Julie Pasqual is a storyteller who's performances are infused with physicality and movement from her dance training, comic moments from her work in clowning, a deep love of language from her work as an actress, and a love of world cultures and folktales born from her travels to (so far) 49 of the 50 states, and 12 countries. Using all of her performance skills, and an ever present spirit of playfulness, Julie brings stories to audiences from pre-schoolers to prisoners, and everyone in between in single shows, assemblies, workshops, and residencies. Schools, libraries, festivals, museums, group homes, shelters, detention centers, and even weddings, have been some of her venues. When not telling tales, she can be found performing for Healthy Humor, a program designed to bring joy and fun to hospitalized children and their families, teaching the ancient practice of yoga at several studios, and domestic abuse shelters, and travelling to international schools around the globe as a teaching artist for ISTA (International School Theatre Alliance, as well as sweating as much as she can at her local gym!!!

Follow Juile's Blog!

Upcoming Performances

Many of my “tellings” are private performances for schools, or part of ongoing residencies I have. The following are some venues where the general public can see me. Hope to see you there!!FEBRUARY 2017:2/4/17: Hempstead Library, NY 2PM2/4/17: Battery Park City, NYC 4:30PM2/25/17: Rahway Library, NJ 2PMAPRIL 2017:4/29/17: CT Storytelling Festival, New London, CT, 9AM, 1:30, 7:30!!MAY 2017:Manasquan Library, NJ 3:15PM

SO, WHERE'S JULIE WHEN SHE'S NOT TELLING TALES??

Well, she might be...performing in hospitals for children and their families for Healthy Humor a program designed to bringing humor and joy to the pediatric patients, or she might be...teaching yoga at Hudson Yoga Project in Hoboken, NJ, Yogamaya, The Bhakti Center, or at homeless and women's shelters in NYC. Or she might be...stilt walking, clowning, or dancing at various events. Or she might be travelling as a teaching artist for ISTA (International School Theatre Alliance)

Julie Live!

What They're Saying about Julie!

Julie Pasqual brings stories to LIFE. She is a storyteller of the first magnitude, with a collection of tales from all over the world. If you have the mistaken impression that children are bored by traditional storytelling, Julie will, with one beat of a drum, dance of her feet, or participatory shout from the audience, dispel your reservations. Julie is a true griot, a tribal teller who carries stories forward so that current generation and generations to come can learn the stories and the art of the teller. I have never had Julie at the library when the audience didn't leave smiling from ear to ear and repeating the rhythms and stories that she has taught them.

From Lisa Herskowitz, Youth Services Librarian, East Northport, Public Library.

"Julie Pasqual is one of the best storytellers we have hosted at our library. Julie is a whirlwind of positive energy who knows how to work a room filled with children of varied ages as well as adults. Her performance, which was the perfect blend of humor, physicality, and poignancy, held everyone's attention. Everyone walked out with a smile! I look forward to inviting Julie back in the near future."

To whom it may concern,

Julie Pasqual is a truly amazing performer! From the minute she steps on stage – even if the stage is a respect commanding school chapel or a huge, undecorated school gym – she holds the audience spellbound. Because Dream On Productions has presented more than 40 performances in Argentina by this excellent storyteller, I was treated to a wide variety of tales. My favorite one is “Unana,” a traditional folktale where the mother goes after an elephant who ate her children, and has to be swallowed along with them in order to rescue them. I also love the story of Death and her godson, a story told in cultures throughout the world. Her stories, her voices, her facial expressions, her stage presence make her performances unforgettable.

The fact that she uses the whole of her body to convey emotions and images that get the idea across makes her unique among the excellent performers we normally schedule, and perfect for our audiences of ESL learners.

Julie is furthermore a joy to work with and makes the entire experience not only a delight for the audience but also for the tour organizers. Just to mention a couple of examples, she was most co-operative trying to resolve an issue with a flight schedule change by the airline, and very patient signing autographs for long lines of school children.

In addition to my own opinion expressed above, we have received much feedback thanking Dream On and Julie, full of positive comments from teachers and children. As director of Dream On Productions, I heartily recommend her storytelling skills and professionalism.